Strategy 21 25 - Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
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2021 Strategy 2025
Strategy 2021
2025
4 Introduction
4 Context
5 Pathways to change
6 Our priorities
Table of 9 Achieving impact at scale
contents |2
10 Resourcing our ambitions
11 Demonstrating delivery
12 Annex 1: Support to the Movement and its partners
13 Annex 2: Resourcing modalitiesStrategy 2021
2025
The Climate Centre supports
the International Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement
Mission (“the Movement”) and its partners |3
in reducing the impacts of
climate change and
extreme-weather events on
vulnerable peopleStrategy 2021
2025
1. Introduction This strategy comes at a pivotal moment. The 2019 International Conference of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the IFRC’s Strategy 2030 have identified
climate change as a critical humanitarian priority for the coming decade, also
expressed in the Movement Ambitions to Address the Climate Crisis. Through
its network of 192 National Societies, 165,000 local branches and 14 million
volunteers, the IFRC has committed to reduce current and future humanitarian
impacts of climate and environmental crises and to supporting people to adapt
in the face of them. The IFRC secretariat has committed to ambitious climate
goals, making “addressing the climate and environmental crises” the first
strategic priority of its 2021–2025 Plan and Budget. The Climate Centre, as an
IFRC reference centre and the principal technical resource for the Movement on
climate-related issues, will be instrumental in the realization of these ambitions.
2. Context We have begun a decisive decade. The climate crisis is here, risks are rising.
The effects of a world that has already warmed by over a full degree Celsius are
clear: we are facing more shocks, more surprises, and more compound risks.
We are seeing disasters and gradual climate stresses exacerbate rapid and
unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation and depletion of natural
resources, conflict, displacement, migration, and health risks including heat |4
stress and public health emergencies.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its indirect economic impacts have laid bare
our strengths as well as our vulnerability to shocks. It is the poorest and most
vulnerable that are most impacted by colliding risks, and it is the humanitarian
system that is being stretched to a breaking point. Decisive action must be
taken to ensure recovery that is green, resilient, and inclusive.
Part of this paradigm shift requires developing a greater ability to anticipate risks
and build resilience as part of development – especially in the most vulnerable
places, such as in situations of armed conflict as well as in fragile settings. At
the same time, we must prevent growing climate hazards by quickly bending
the curve on rising greenhouse gas emissions.
While ambition to address the climate crisis exists at the global level, the level
and quality of practical action are falling short. Too often we work in silos,
both among international organizations and within national governments.
A disconnection between global, national and local implementation is resulting
in failure to address the needs and harness the capacities of front-line
communities. Innovative approaches to better anticipate and manage risk such
as forecast-based financing, known to work in a variety of local settings, are not
yet pursued at scale. While public concern is growing, accountability for these
shortcomings is lacking.Strategy 2021
2025
Since its inception in 2002, the Climate Centre has played an important role
in shaping global policy, as well as innovations to address the rising risks in
practice. In the coming five years, we are guided by a clear focus on supporting
local-level implementation at scale.
This effort will be greatly facilitated by our diverse global team including 28
nationalities across six continents. In 2019 alone, the Climate Centre team
directly supported 103 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and
other stakeholders in 97 countries. As we look ahead, we are energized and
inspired by the opportunity to join forces with the ever-expanding network of
climate focal points and experts across the IFRC secretariat and in National
Societies to deliver on our mission and on this strategy in particular.
3. Pathways to
change Over the next five years, the Climate Centre will continue to provide thought
leadership, with a focus on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, and
fostering resilience including the most fragile contexts. We will do this through
three pathways to change:
● Harness scientific knowledge and influence research agendas to generate
actionable insights on climate hazards, exposure and vulnerability of people
and their livelihoods, and to shape adaptation to rising risks. We will continue
to work with top scientists and talented young researchers from around the
world, and provide major contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on |5
Climate Change.
● Inform policy within the Red Cross Red Crescent, the UNFCCC and its
related financing mechanisms, and the wider interfaces between climate,
humanitarian and development domains. We will do this as trusted technical
experts, but also as representatives of humanitarian concerns about rising
risks. We will continue to do this from local to global levels, working across
sectors and relevant themes.
● Advance practical solutions to better manage rising risks through work with
the IFRC and individual National Societies, the ICRC, and many partners
from the World Bank to local communities.Strategy 2021
2025
4. Our priorities The priority themes the Climate Centre will address reflect areas where we
have a specific added value and a niche, with partners both within and beyond
the Red Cross Red Crescent. A central part of the work of the Climate Centre
will continue to be cross-cutting support to the Movement, based on need
and demand. In addition to such cross-cutting support, we have identified two
flagship themes and a selection of priority areas of growth.
Aside from these categories, we see a need for continued engagement with
the private sector regarding its role in climate-risk management, and in the
emerging discussions on solar geoengineering and we will continue to monitor
these areas, engaging where possible in a low-intensity, high-impact way.
MISSION PATHWAYS TO CHANGE RESULT AREAS OUR GOAL
The Climate Centre
supports the International
Harness scientific SUPPORT TO THE MOVEMENT
Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement and its partners knowledge
FLAGSHIP THEMES
in reducing the impacts of and influence
climate change and research agendas
extreme weather events on
Anticipatory action Reduce
vulnerable people impacts
Urban heat risk
of climate
change
Inform policy PRIORITY GROWTH AREAS |6
from local to and
Youth engagement
global levels,
across sectors
extreme
and themes Urban communities weather
events on
Climate-conflict nexus vulnerable
Climate-responsive people
social protection
Advance practical
solutions to better Interactive and
manage rising risk “virtually amazing” dialogue
4.1 Ongoing support
to the Movement
and its partners The Climate Centre will continue to support the Movement in achieving its
climate ambitions as laid out in the Movement Ambitions to Address the
Climate Crisis, and in the implementation of the IFRC Strategy 2030, its Plan
and Budget 2021–2025, and its climate-related priorities, as well as the climate
priorities in the ICRC’s Strategy 2019–2022.
This support will be delivered where demand and funding are clear. Our
engagement will help shape nascent or existing agendas with the humanitarian
perspective through brokering dialogues, providing technical guidance, and
where possible, helping to shape relevant partnerships. Annex 1 presents a list
of thematic areas that will be considered part of this ongoing support.Strategy 2021
2025
4.2 Flagship themes In addition to our cross-cutting support to the Red Cross Red Crescent, we
have identified two flagship themes where we are already recognized leaders
and where we plan to continue to invest heavily, given continued traction of
the work, as well as anticipated demand and potential for further growth.
● Institutionalizing anticipatory action
Anticipatory approaches enable people to receive assistance ahead of
predictable shocks and have become a key ingredient of comprehensive
risk management in the face of rising risks. However, initiatives to implement
anticipatory approaches such as forecast-based assistance have remained
in “project mode” or are confined to relatively small scales of geographic or
demographic reach. In addition, risk information generated to drive forecast-
based action is often limited to humanitarian interventions, and seldom
effectively informs longer-term risk reduction and adaptation.
Building on our pioneering work to make anticipatory humanitarian action a
reality, the Climate Centre will continue to drive the strategic shift to anticipatory
thinking and action. Our vision is to institutionalize anticipation, to make it a
key modus operandi for humanitarian work, but also to link it to risk-informed |7
development ranging from community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) to
urban planning and social protection systems.
With its partners, including especially the Anticipation Hub, the Climate Centre
will (a) convene stakeholders across the humanitarian, development and
private sectors to facilitate a step-change towards anticipation, building global
momentum for local action, (b) build and expand institutional partnerships
to anchor anticipatory action within the broader DRR, climate finance and
social protection landscapes, and (c) work with Movement partners to take
anticipatory action to scale in their respective countries and regions by
providing strategic foresight, actionable programme design and management
guidance, and coalition-building support to solidify momentum.
● Addressing urban heat risk
Heatwaves are among the deadliest disasters and they are getting stronger
and more frequent. Heatwave impacts are felt most acutely in urban areas
where two-thirds of the world’s people will live by 2050. Despite this staggering
global toll, there is a lack of global awareness and action to combat heat risks.
However, heatwaves are predictable, and many adverse effects are preventable
with simple, low-cost actions.Strategy 2021
2025
The Climate Centre will support the IFRC’s 2025 goal to ensure that 250 million
people are covered by new or improved heat action plans and/or early warning
systems in at least 150 cities and towns. The Climate Centre will strengthen
its position as a thought leader in this space and foster leadership and action
among its partners to scale up its efforts to reduce heat impacts.
With its partners, the Climate Centre will accelerate city-level action at a global
scale to prevent urban heat-impacts, now and in the future. This includes
raising awareness of heat risks, supporting planning for action on heat and
early warning systems, promoting urban planning to reduce heat risks, shaping
heatwave research, advocating for increased funding, and fostering policy to
underpin that action. The Climate Centre will facilitate connections, strengthen
capacity, highlight gaps and success stories.
4.3 Priority areas
of growth The following thematic areas embody strong potential over the coming five
years, based on demand from within the Red Cross Red Crescent and beyond.
We are already in the process of growing our capacity and comparative
advantage on these themes by...
● Strengthening youth engagement with the aim of providing inspiration and
direction to Red Cross Red Crescent Movement youth and others to take
meaningful climate action, through increased awareness, action and advocacy.
● Supporting vulnerable urban communities to be knowledgeable about the |8
climate risks they face and adaptive actions to take and help equip National
Societies and partners with the necessary tools and guidance to foster
urban climate action at scale. Work under this theme will address short- and
long-term climate risks, such as heat and extreme rainfall, but also rising sea
levels and changing migration patterns. The focus under this theme also
includes promoting partnerships between cities and the Red Cross Red
Crescent to reduce rising climate risks.
● Addressing the “climate-conflict nexus” by working with the ICRC in its
efforts to “reinforce conflict-affected communities’ ability to absorb the
combined consequences of conflict and climate shocks”, and helping its
delegations “support communities to adapt and transform their capacities
and resources to better manage future stresses caused by the combined
effects of conflict and climate change”, in practice as well as through policy
engagement and analysis.
● Making social protection responsive to climate with the aim of helping
countries more effectively manage climate risks while reducing poverty
and vulnerability.
● Pilot and scale interactive and “virtually amazing” dialogue, making innovative
virtual and hybrid engagements a new norm for the humanitarian sector and
its partners. These approaches are to serve as an alternative to carbon-
intensive travel and enable new economies of scale in building capacity and
brokering solutions.Strategy 2021
2025
5. Achieving
impact at scale The new ambitions on climate action in the Movement and the scale of support
needed across all National Societies means the Climate Centre’s support to the
system will evolve. Reflecting on the current landscape of actors as well as our
past successes in promoting climate risk management for the most vulnerable,
we have identified five implementation approaches for achieving impact in the
coming five years:
● Leverage local leadership: By working closely with the IFRC, ICRC and
National Society leadership, the Climate Centre will continue to facilitate
effective communication on rising climate risks with an emphasis on those
facing the most vulnerable. We will continue to leverage the Red Cross
Red Crescent network to highlight locally led and scalable solutions to
addressing the humanitarian implications of climate change; and we will
continue to strengthen local voices in global debates by linking perspectives
and networks, and connecting different levels of governance. We will
continue to provide advice to the network and its partners, and play a
representational and convening role in climate policy processes. Providing
capacity-building support to ensure strong local leadership will continue
to be a primary avenue for strengthening the Red Cross Red Crescent’s
capacity to grow its leadership role in the area of climate risk management. |9
● Provide self-guided and peer-to-peer support: A large part of this support
will be provided through development and delivery of state of the art, off-the-
shelf/self-guided capacity-building tools and interactive trainings, including
for leadership, as well as by actively nurturing peer-to-peer support models
among National Societies and within the IFRC and ICRC.
● Innovate to improve: The Climate Centre will continue to develop out-of-the-
box approaches to enable partners to notice and confront what is
unacceptable yet accepted, while building trust and creating solutions.
We will continue to innovate to promote ambition-oriented learning and
dialogue, and to inform and influence decision-making processes related
to science, policy and practice. This includes using innovative approaches
(like harnessing the power of art, music, games and humour) to help
bridge divides, broker new connections, and strengthen existing
partnerships from local to global levels, across sectors and disciplines.
● Incubate for long-term impact: In order to widen its impact, the Climate
Centre follows an “incubation model”, whereby expertise is fluid and people
move in and out of the team rather than just aiming for growth of the centre
itself. In designing new projects and attracting human resources, we aim to
develop and strengthen existing incubation structures such as mentorship,
secondment and joint implementation, and a robust alumni network toStrategy 2021
2025
promote the climate risk management agenda, and strengthen the capacity
of the Movement and its partners. In an effort to serve as a knowledge hub,
the expanding network of climate focal points across the IFRC secretariat
and in National Societies, and in the ICRC, will be treated as an extended
part of the global Climate Centre team, able to connect and draw on the
skills and capacity of the Climate Centre in a fluid and flexible way.
● Communicate to connect: We will share our humanitarian perspective on the
climate crisis and what’s needed to address it. Key channels include our
website, media interviews, social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn,
podcasts, and of course our support to effective climate communication by
and for the IFRC, ICRC, National Societies and our wider network of
partners, including through original research on the humanitarian
consequences of climate change and support to science such as the
attribution of the role of climate change in recent extreme weather events.
6. Resourcing
our ambitions To deliver on our vision, it is key for the Climate Centre is to help to raise
resources for the wider Movement, ensuring that climate resources reach
the most vulnerable. This is an integral objective of our work outlined above.
Resourcing includes securing financial resources, but also the pro bono
provision of intellectual capital, for instance through our research networks and
internship programmes. In addition, we must also resource the capacities of
our own work as a reference centre.
Annex 2 presents possible funding and partnership modalities for the Climate | 10
Centre, including the advantages each offers in terms of flexibility, and
opportunities for partnership development, shaping key agendas and
delivering high-quality technical assistance to partners within the Movement
and more broadly.
The Climate Centre’s current resource base consists mainly of earmarked or
project-specific funding. Increased flexible funding will be critical to enable the
Climate Centre to provide the diverse array of technical assistance sought
from partners across the Movement, especially towards the most vulnerable
with the least capacity and funding.Strategy 2021
2025
7. Demonstrating
delivery Our results can be difficult to distinguish from those of our partners.
Nevertheless, we will track our added value and be sure to apply our modest
resources for the biggest impact.
On an annual basis, our work plan will list our project portfolio and highlight
how it contributes to our flagships and thematic-work areas (outlined in
Sections 3, 4 and 5). For each project, we will also track (a) the number of
countries we are directly impacting with our work, (b) the number of partner
organizations we are directly working with, (c) the amount of total programme
value we are influencing or helping to deliver, and (d) our own Climate Centre
time and resource investment into a project.
This approach allows us to assess our geographic, organizational and financial
influence per project and per priority thematic area. In addition, we will capture
the most impactive and innovative stories of change under each thematic
priority area, enabling us to convey the substantive results we are achieving.
We will track the evolution of our portfolio and flexible resources to optimally
align with the aspirations in this strategy.
| 11Strategy 2021
2025
Annex 1:
Support to the
Movement and
its partners In 2020, the IFRC, the ICRC and the Climate Centre produced a set
of Movement Ambitions to Address the Climate Crisis, indicating how
the Movement intends to scale up its climate action, and integrate an
understanding of evolving climate risks across all areas of its work.
Table 2 describes how the Climate Centre envisages supporting the
Movement to realize its ambitions, where there is need and demand.
For each theme, the table presents the impact we intend to have by 2025.
Theme Intended impact
Health National Societies and their partners have increased understanding of the links
between climate and health, and are mainstreaming these links into policy, planning,
capacity building and action on the ground.
Displacement National Societies and their partners have increased understanding of the links
between climate and displacement, and are mainstreaming these links into policy,
planning, capacity building and action on the ground.
Attribution Increased awareness of the linkage between climate change and specific extreme
weather events. This allows us to leverage attention for changing risks when a
disaster has just occurred, and enables a more nuanced conversation on how
climate risks are manifested and adaptation implemented to reduce risks for the
most vulnerable people.
| 12
Climate-resilient National Societies and their partners have increased understanding of how
livelihoods the livelihoods of the most vulnerable are affected by climate change, and are
mainstreaming these links into policy, planning, capacity-building and action
on the ground.
Nature-based solutions National Societies and their partners are implementing nature-based solutions
focused on reducing disaster risks and adapting to and mitigating climate change.
WASH National Societies and their partners are supported to systematically integrate
and anticipate short- and longer-term climate risks into programmes on water,
sanitation and hygiene.
Greening the Red National Societies and their partners are greening their operations more
effectively, through linkages with the IFRC’s Green Response working group,
leading National Societies’ and ICRC capacities in this area; light-touch,
on-demand support is provided.
Private sector Increased attention in the private sector for its role in building resilience, specifically
with regards to the role National Societies can play in supporting the private sector
to comprehensively address the vulnerability component in climate-risk analyses.
Solar geoengineering Increased attention for the humanitarian perspective on solar geoengineering,
including risks and ethical and governance aspects.
Table 2. Ongoing support to the Movement and its partners, based on demand.Strategy 2021
2025
Annex 2:
Resourcing
modalities There are several options for resourcing the Climate Centre’s work. Each offers
different advantages in terms of flexibility and opportunities for partnership
development, shaping key agendas, and delivering high-quality technical
assistance to partners within the Movement and beyond.
● Direct project funding. This is funding from National Societies, bilateral and
multilateral donor agencies, research bodies, foundations or other
institutions, and is tied to the delivery of specific technical assistance or
research in projects. It allows us to deliver in close partnership and is related
to clear demands, but it also comes with constraints, especially when
responding to high-priority requests for support beyond the geographical or
thematic scope of the specific projects.
● Unearmarked funding, often from Partner National Societies. This is typically
delivered on an annual basis or for strategic activities. This type of funding is
the most valuable and offers the potential for delivering greatest impact given
its inherent flexibility; this enables the Climate Centre to leverage the
expertise of the entire team to capitalize on existing and new opportunities
and deepen partnerships (with governments, for example), and respond to
high-priority requests for support from the network, including in vulnerable | 13
and underserved places. This type of funding will need to increase in order
for the Centre to effectively meet its mission in support to the Movement’s
ambitions to address the Climate Crisis.
● Joint positions. Under this funding modality, the IFRC or a National Society
or external partner organization shares the cost with the Climate Centre
of a technical expert to function as a fully fledged member of our team as
a regional and thematic focal point. This modality can be an innovative way
to build capacity on climate across the system while attracting specific
technical expertise – on health, for example – that may not already exist
on the Climate Centre team.
● Seconded staff. Similar to the above but with the technical expert’s position
fully covered by the IFRC or a Partner National Society or an external
partner. This model offers the Climate Centre the opportunity to incubate
talent and learn from the experience and expertise of the secondee.
● Funding recipient as a partner in a larger consortium. Due to its small size,
the Climate Centre typically seeks out specific roles in line with its technical
expertise, rather than opting to lead large consortia. This has been an
excellent way to establish and/or nurture an array of influential partnerships
and be part of larger efforts to shape systems across the science-policy-
practice nexus.Strategy 2021
2025
● IFRC appeals. Through the provision of technical support by the Climate
Centre, activities funded through an IFRC appeal are informed on risk and
generally “climate-smart”.
● Philanthropy and private sector. This is an emerging area of growth whereby
the Climate Centre is exploring opportunities to partner with interested
National Societies to advance a corporate climate agenda, based on the
unique expertise the Red Cross Red Crescent can offer on vulnerability and
resilience-building to philanthropy and private sector entities.
● Professional volunteers. We are starting an experiment with engaging
professionals who wish to develop a career in climate change on a pro bono
basis, but for projects clearly defined in scope and time. These could be in
the field of private-sector engagement, philanthropic fund-raising, and
innovative approaches to learning and dialogue.
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